Pa. Turnpike tolls rise 10 percent for cash customers

Higher tolls are set to begin Sunday for drivers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

For the third consecutive year, the toll hikes are higher for cash-paying motorists while drivers with E-ZPass will see an increase of about 2 percent.

The hike is in keeping with annual toll increases over the past five years, says Bill Capone, spokesman for the Turnpike Commission.

"When you calculate it, it's overall about a 3 percent annual increase, when you average it out," he said. "And that's kind of what we've been looking at over the last several years, overall roughly a 3 percent increase."

But cash-paying customers will see their fares go up 10 percent.

Capone says the reason for the difference in rates is to encourage motorists to use E-ZPass, as the Turnpike moves toward converting to all-electronic tolling.

Annual toll hikes began for the Turnpike in 2009 -- due, in part, to state law requiring the roadway to pay $450 million annually to PennDOT.

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